Need to get healthy asap!

cmr220

Hi, just a quick introduction. I've had my profile here a while, but have had no motivation to use it until now!
At the moment my weight is giving me many health problems, which make daily life (as a student) difficult. I'm not surrounded by the healthiest of people irl, so am hoping to meet like-minded people here.

Shawn_White

You can do it. Find a book or a program that you like and also start tracking what you eat. Maybe join a group to find some encouragement and support. Even Facebook groups. Don't give up.

Rick_1953

Hi, best of luck on your journey to a healthier lifestyle. Start slow, small changes regarding your calorie intake. Reduce them by 500 calories a day. Get steps in, walk as much as you can. When small changes start to happen your motivation and desire should really kick in

estherdragonbat

Well, I came to MFP due to some obesity-related health issues, too. (Chronic venous insufficiency and lymphedema, both currently under control).

Losing weight sensibly is the single most effective way to improve your health markers. It doesn't matter if you're high-carb, low-carb, keto, intermittent fasting, clean eating (whatever that means), subsisting on snack cakes and takeout... if the weight comes off, your health will improve.

Along the way, you'll likely find a way of eating that satisfies you. Personally, I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian and kosher. Neither have anything to do with my weight loss. I ballooned out to 254 lbs that way. I'm down to 160 that way. I started out just eating what I wanted within my calorie limit. And, over time, I decided to try hard to meet my protein and iron RDAs and let the rest fall where it falls. In my case, that's higher carbs and low-to-moderate fat. There are people here who find high fat-low carb works better for them. Or eating within a smaller window of the day. Or cutting out snacks. What works for some people may or may not work for you. Experiment to find out what does.

And this isn't a race. Losing weight should be a gradual process. It's also not linear. Sometimes you'll retain water which can mask fat loss. I've had weeks where I did everything "right" and went up a pound. I've had weeks where I ate several meals out and had to guesstimate the calories, didn't exercise as much, braced myself for bad news at the scale... and was down four pounds. Don't let a couple of disappointing weeks discourage you. Look at the trend over time.

Other tips:

• When it comes to measuring your food, cups and spoons are fine for measuring liquids. You'll be more accurate if you use a scale for weighing. (The MFP database entry I was using for grapes told me that a cup was 61 calories. One day, I put the amount on the scale and entered it as grams... and discovered it was more like 100. Forty calories is NOT that big a deal. But if it's 40 calories off on the grapes, 70 on the corn, 95 on the peanut butter, etc etc... it does add up. And as you get closer to goal weight, it makes a bigger difference.)
• Calorie deficit is for weight loss. Exercise is for health. But I find that when I exercise, it improves my mood (less emotional/stress eating) and gives me something to do (cuts back on boredom eating), and while I do need to eat more to fuel my workouts, I'm not as hungry as I am when I can't exercise and eat less. Which brings me to another tip:
• The calories MFP gives you as your daily allowance are what you need to eat to lose weight at the rate you specified if you DON'T exercise. When you exercise, you're supposed to eat at least a portion back of the calories you burn. If you're running too great a calorie deficit, you won't just lose fat; you'll also lose muscle. (Some muscle loss is unavoidable, but a sensible calorie deficit, coupled with strength training can minimize it.)

Good luck!